The International Reading Association (ILA)’s 2018 report, What’s Hot in Literacy, ranked Early Literacy and Strategies for Differentiating Instruction as among the top five most important critical area in literacy. These results should not be surprising since more than one in three children enter school already at risk for literacy failure (American Academy of Pediatrics) because they have not developed emergent literacy skills. How do we close the gap for these children? How do we introduce them to the world of literacy?

Some children enter school having experienced a very diverse and varied exposure to books and language, while other children have minimal experiences with books and language. Unfortunately, too few schools build a bridge and the gap between the children become greater. Marie Clay contends that children can make rapid gains in foundational literacy skills in classrooms that promote active engagement in a large variety of learning opportunities. What are the characteristic of high quality literacy environments?

Presenter: Dr. Cindy Owens is the ELA Coordinator and Literacy Trainer for Nixa Public Schools where she trains Reading Recovery Teachers, CIM Interventionists, and Dyslexia Therapists as well as provides
professional development for classroom teachers.Audience: 4K – 5K teachers, coaches, administrators, and interventionists

1b) How should I teach grammar?

Learn about our interactive approach to grammar instruction at Cumberland School in Whitefish Bay. Using the work of Jeff Anderson as a guide, we have designed grammar lessons that have been transferable to reading and writing. We will explain how our students study mentor sentences, lifted from high quality children’s literature, to understand and imitate the author’s use of conventions to convey meaning. The authentic authors serve as the model in a gradual release of responsibility of learning experience for our students. These grammar lessons were taught in kindergarten, first grade, second grade and fifth grade classrooms but will be adapted for kindergarten through fifth grades, and possibly beyond.

How can teachers make sure students practice and transfer important skills learned in whole group lessons at their own level? Providing a solid structure for literature discussion groups allows students to grow and reflect as a reader and improves their ability to have deep and meaningful discussions with peers. This session focuses on how teachers enhance small group time in the classroom. We will discuss the components of a literature discussion group, resources used, and how to gradually release students to take charge of their discussions and learning. Belleville fifth grade teacher, Heather Gordon and Belleville Literacy Coach, Dawn Stiegert discuss this critical component of the literacy block with video models and lesson plans to showcase how it all flows together.

1d) Scaffolding Students for Success at the Secondary LevelYou have the tools, organizers, and strategies, but students still are not finding success in your class. This session will focus on how to go beyond the tools and strategies and scaffold all learners in your content area for success.Presenters: Jill Johnson, reading specialist and Melissa Whitmore, special education teacher, School District of BellevilleAudience: secondary teachers across all content areas, coaches, and administrators

1e) Scaffolding Professional Development

What would it look like to scaffold a year-long professional development plan for implementing Language Workshop in elementary classrooms across our district? To answer that question, Literacy Coaches in Kaukauna intentionally planned for multiple levels of support through professional development, collaborative meetings, and coaching. The goal of this session is to describe the framework used, what was learned, and what could be revised. Participants will see how the theories of gradual release and scaffolding are not just for the students in a classroom, but can be scaled up to teachers at a building and district level.

Participants in this session will learn about the CFG intervention and how Special Educators and Interventionists work with the classroom teachers to align curriculum in order to implement best practices that meet individualized student needs. We will start with looking at and understanding the basic framework and structure of CFG and then work our way through the alignment process. We will discuss the importance of collaboration, formative and summative assessment, implementing the intervention with fidelity, and writing and how to meet IEP goals and objectives through the intervention process.

Just as children enter school with varied experiences with language and books, they also have varied experiences with writing. Marie Clay argued that a child’s early writing is an indicator of that he/she is ‘seeing’ in print. As teachers, we must analyze their writing to learn: What do this child know about print? What do this child need to learn? Systematic analysis of writing samples is an effective way of identifying the instructional focus that is needed to move children forward.

How can you differentiate for all learners in your reading workshop block, and how does it all fit together? What might your daily and weekly schedule look like when you do this? This session will lay out the different aspects of Readers Workshop including LDG’s, GRG’s, Tier 1 interventions, 1:1 conferences and independent work. These components will be discussed as well as how to build independence in learners. We will cover how to effectively hit all the components of RW and how it fits into a daily/weekly reading workshop schedule. Target audience: grades 2-5.

Presenters: Stacey McKinley, Amy Rice, & Gayle Doyle are 3rd-grade teachers for the School District of BellevilleAudience: grade 2-5 teachers

2d-1) Books! Books! Books!

Reaching tweens and teens with books that bridge the gap from striving to thriving is our goal. This sectional introduces a vast array of books, across a wide spectrum of topics. Books shared will enhance content areas, deal with current events, create platforms for thoughtful discussions, have strong characters, intriguing plots and some that are gritty. These sure-fire books will spark interest and deepen students’ engagement.

Presenter: Mary Lou Harris-Manske, retired adjunct instructor for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and retired reading coordinator for Stevens Point Schools. Co-owner of Book Look and invited vendor at the PCL institute.Audience: secondary teachers, coaches and interventionists

Oftentimes math teachers think that writing is not a part of math class. A school-wide writing improvement plan taught us about a Text Dependent Analysis (TDA) process. Surprisingly, this process aligns closely with what our research showed was a good method for helping students learn how to solve word problems. In this session, we’ll share findings and lessons learned from our Master’s degree in Math Intervention, action research project. We will demonstrate how math word problems can be used to teach TDA steps as part of a 7-12 school-wide writing improvement plan.

This session will provide administrators and coaches with an overview of tools designed to receive impactful feedback from educators, improving their own practice and the overall system. Time in the workshop will be dedicated to the understanding importance of receiving feedback, effective tools for soliciting useful feedback, planning or practicing the tools, and looking at steps to take after receiving the feedback. While tools will be provided, collaboration in the workshop will multiply attendees toolbox for success. Receiving impactful feedback leads to quality leadership and systems, supporting the reaching of our literacy goals.

2f) Build It (with Scaffolds), and They Will Learn: How Intentional Scaffolding Can Lift the Level of Learning

The power in Guided Reading Plus comes from the many opportunities a CIM Interventionist has to scaffold student learning. In this session, we will focus on Phase 1, the Reading Phase, in a Guided Reading Plus lesson. We will briefly review the components of the Reading Phase and then analyze a few areas more deeply, where teachers can vary levels of support to scaffold student learning. Participants will have time to discuss, collaborate and apply this learning. Intended Audience: K-2 teachers, reading teachers/interventionists, reading specialists, literacy coaches, special education teachers

Presenter: Wendy Hamilton, district coach and trainer for literacy interventions in the School District of Waukesha.Audience: K-2 teachers, reading teachers/interventionists, reading specialists, literacy coaches, special education teachers

Session 3: 2:15 – 3:30 (7 concurrent sectionals to choose from)

3a) What Children Discover About Literacy Through Writing

With a safe environment created by a responsive teacher, young children transform into readers and writers. Clay advocates that reading and writing are reciprocal and that children discover, “What I say, I can write. And, what I write, I can read.” By implementing Interactive Writing, a teacher creates an environment consisting of adjustable support that nurtures new learning.

3c) My Kids are in Small Groups for Reading, but Now What? How to Teach Small Group Reading Instruction That Builds Strategic and Independent Learners!

How does my whole-class instruction impact my plan for small-group instruction? How do I know which students to group together? What other ways can kids read in a small group other than “round robin”? Which strategies should be taught to students at their reading levels? How do I take anecdotal notes and then use them to inform my instruction? Or, I have the data, now what?

If you’re asking these questions, come and participate in learning about small group reading instruction for students in grades 3rd – 5th. This presentation will not only answer these questions but also provide ideas and strategies for many other aspects of small group reading instruction. We want to show you a way make the most of your small group time purposeful and effective.

Sharing your writing process is the most valuable and vulnerable gift you can give budding young writers. Caitlin Etten, literacy coach at Whitefish Bay Middle School will show

you what makes modeling writing so powerful and explain how to do it in a way to have maximum impact for your students. We will learn some theory, watch examples, and try a little modeling ourselves! Though this session is from a secondary coach, it is perfect for any teacher, primary or secondary, who asks their students to write.

Presenter: Caitlin Etten, PCL district coach from the School District of Whitefish BayAudience: secondary ELA teachers, coaches

3d-2) Interactive Science Notebooks

Literacy and writing is a common focus in many school districts nationwide and the “interactive notebook” allows teachers to make science learning more meaningful while incorporating critical thinking and writing on a daily basis. The interactive notebook is being used successfully in 5 different high school science courses including AP courses. Additionally, 6th grade science students use an interactive notebook. In this session, Meredith will discuss, show, and share ideas on how to transform learning in any science classroom using an “interactive notebook”, which uses a 2 page format for students to record and process their learning. Examples will come from Meredith’s high school science classes. Additionally, she will work with participants to develop a similar model across curricular areas.

Presenter: Meredith Smith, high school science teacher for the School District of BellevilleAudience: secondary science teachers, secondary content area teachers, coaches and administrators

3e) Creating an Aligned Comprehensive Assessment System: Using Triangulation of Data to Support Student Learning

Join this session to hear about Belleville’s journey in developing a Comprehensive Assessment System that was a collaborative effort with Classroom Teachers, Coaches, Principals and the CIM Specialist. We will share what was selected as valuable assessments to triangulate, the processes in place to assist with this triangulation, the record keeping around it, and how this system supports future decisions for intervention services and next steps in core.

3f) The WRITE Stuff: The Power of Including the Writing Phase in Your Guided Reading Plus Lesson

“Writing plays a special role in lifting reading achievement.” Dorn & Soffos, Interventions That Work (2012). One of the key “plus” components in a Guided Reading Plus lesson is Phase 2, the Writing Phase. In this session, we will dig into the Writing Phase to further explore the difference between a Writing about Reading Lesson and a Writing Prompt lesson. We will discuss opportunities within these lessons where teachers can vary levels of support to scaffold student learning. Participants will have time to discuss, collaborate and apply this learning.

Presenter: Wendy Hamilton, district coach and trainer for literacy interventions in the School District of Waukesha.Audience: K-2 teachers, reading teachers/interventionists, reading specialists, literacy coaches, special education teachers

Day 2
July 18, 2018

Session 4: 8:30 – 9:45 (6 concurrent sectionals to choose from)

4a) Aligning PCL Model in 4K: Interactive Writing and Thoughtful Logs

How do we begin to teach writing to 4 year old students, whose skills range from not knowing how to hold a pencil, to those who can write simple words? How do we engage students who are writing conventionally while providing instruction for students just learning to use writing tools? Belleville’s 4K teachers, Marsha Rear and Kelsey Schmit, will share how they have implemented Interactive Writing and Thoughtful Logs, into their 4K instruction. Learn about the ways Interactive Writing and the use of Thoughtful Logs can help you differentiate in a 4K classroom.

4b) Affording Students an Opportunity to Read & Analyze Complex Texts During Small Group Instruction

Presenter: Carla SoffosAudience: grade 1-2 teachers

4c) Empowering Teachers and Districts Through Reflective Practice

Teachers in the School District of Belleville are exploring ways to enhance their professional well-being and ways to enhance student outcomes through reflection. What exactly is reflective practice? What are the different types of reflective practice? In this session, we will answer those questions and learn how to deepen practice through professional book studies, teacher book clubs, professional development, and action research. Action research is the highest form of reflective practice and classroom teachers and interventionists in Belleville explored their comfort levels and attitudes toward videotaping small-group lessons, their beliefs on the value of spending collaborative, reflective time on analysis of recorded lessons, and ways to strengthen scaffolding language when observing these lessons.

Presenter: Dawn Stiegert, district PCL coach for the School District of BellevilleAudience: This session is for everyone – teachers, coaches and administration – those who want to deepen their own, their teams, their school’s, and/or their district’s reflective/professional practice for the betterment of the students they serve.

Join us, as we look at the dramatic transformation of middle school readers and their dialogic change in a series of Literature Discussion Groups. We will share the teaching process to move students from passive readers to active leaders in LDGs. This session will highlight student change over time.

Presenters: Gina Bailey, district PCL coach & Garrett Sheskey, middle school ELA teacher for the School District of WaukeshaAudience: secondary ELA teachers, all teachers interested in learning more about helping students learn how to use small group participation skills

This session will provide administrators and coaches with an overview of tools designed to provide impactful feedback to educators, increasing their effectiveness in meeting the learning goals of students. Time in the workshop will be dedicated to the understanding the importance of feedback and accountability, reviewing the art of conversations for improvement, learning effective tools to provide feedback, and planning or practicing the tools. While tools will be provided, collaboration in the workshop will multiply attendees toolbox for success. Impactful feedback leads to quality teaching, reaching our literacy goals.

4f) Aligning the Writing Aloud Intervention to the Classroom: A Scaffold for Success

What do students need to be successful, independent writer’s in Writer’s Workshop? This session addresses that question. Participants in this session will learn how the Writing Aloud Intervention achieves that goal. Scaffolding tools for success include the Intervention Collaboration Meeting (ICM) protocol, the frontloading process for aligning the WA intervention to the Unit of Study used in the classroom, engagement, and background building through multimedia forms. Examples from a 5th grade WA intervention group will be shared. Audience: Interventionists, classroom teachers, coaches, administrators, special education and ESL teachers

Presenter: Rachel Ehlen, Reading Recovery teacher and CIM interventionist for the School District of Fort AtkinsonAudience: Interventionists, coaches for grades gr. 2+

Session 5: 10:00 – 11:15 (6 concurrent sectionals to choose from)

5a & 5b) What’s New and Some All-Time Favorites in Children’s Literature

These books teach, touch the heart, and tickle the funny bone. Attendees will be introduced to a vast array of books that enhance the curriculum and support content areas. Books for read alouds, interactive read alouds, mentor texts, as well as books to spur independent reading will be shared. These sure-fire books will spart interest and deepen students’ engagement.

Presenter: Mary Lou Harris-Manske, retired adjunct instructor for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and retired reading coordinator for Stevens Point Schools. Co-owner of Book Look and invited vendor at the PCL institute.Audience: elementary teachers, coaches and interventionists

Readers do so much more than rereading, or looking for sounds they know while reading. How does our awareness and identification of a child’s internal system of control influence and impact our decision making and prompting? Together, we will revisit the famous page eleven in Shaping Literate Minds, our role in scaffolding, articulating language, and coaching so our students can become self-regulated learners. Examining these shifts foster flexibility in selecting prompts that move our readers toward self regulation.

Presenter: Marcia Jordahl, district PCL coach for the School District of Fort AtkinsonAudience: Coaches, Teachers, Professional Development Leaders

5d-1) Nurturing Young Writers: Writing Conferences

Writing Conferences can be the most fulfilling and motivating experience in your classroom (for teacher and student!). Learn the theory behind their power, see Anne Liccione and Cherie Andrus, two Whitefish Bay Middle School teachers, share their work and explain how they use this theory to drive their decision making. Hear them reflect on their process and share tips to keep mini lessons tight and meaningful. Caitlin Etten, literacy coach, will also describe how she collaborated with teachers to grow their practice through professional development sessions and coaching cycles.

Presenter: Caitlin Etten, PCL district coach from the School District of Whitefish BayAudience: secondary ELA teachers, coaches

5d-2) Using Technology as an Instructional Support for Literacy Across Content Areas

Content area teachers, yes, you are also reading teachers! Easily find content related reading material that you can use for differentiation or text analysis in the grades 6-12 classroom. Learn how to seamlessly integrate technology with complex reading samples and text dependent questions that will boost your students’ college and career readiness skills in literacy.

Training interventionists and special education teachers in the Comprehensive Intervention Model requires the support of all layers of a school system including district administrators, building principals, and coaches. Without the support of one of those stakeholders, the system of scaffolding becomes less secure. The presenters will share the process they used last school year in the Kaukauna Area School District to intentionally involve each of the levels to create a stronger system of support and accountability at the elementary level.

This session will describe evidence-based practices for teaching children with dyslexia. The dyslexia intervention must include opportunities for students to apply their item knowledge, in tandem with flexible strategies, to comprehend meaning within texts that increase in difficulty and complexity over time. Videos and teaching examples will be used to illustrate specific procedures for teaching dyslexic readers.

Kids develop deeper understandings and consolidate their thinking when they have a chance to talk with others about what they are reading. Why not try this in kindergarten? In this session, Jessica and Margot will share how they launched Literature Discussion Groups in a kindergarten classroom. Participants will learn how conversational moves were taught to the whole class, how they were transferred to math instruction, and finally how they engaged in traditional literature discussion groups. Numerous video clips will be shared to illustrate the process each step of the way.

A strategic behavior used by proficient readers is to write in reading response logs. In addition to reading responses, the logs can be used to scaffold deeper comprehension by creating bridges between whole group, small group, and independent work. The logs can link together the settings of language, reading, and writing workshops, and the use language to teach reading and writing. Sounds great, how do you create that scaffolding infrastructure? This session will present the theory and practice of scaffolding with response logs in elementary classrooms.

6d) Gradual Release of Responsibility: Using Cognitive Apprenticeship to Set Students on the Path to Mastery

The gradual release of responsibility (GRR) framework for instruction is a simple, extremely effective framework for any lesson in any content area. This framework is an example of cognitive apprenticeship: the teacher demonstrates a skill or strategy through modeling and think alouds, students practice together with feedback and scaffolding from the teacher, and then students practice independently, receiving feedback to lead them toward mastery of the skill or strategy. This session will demonstrate how an entire school, grades 7-12, utilized this framework to improve student writing in all content areas. The presenters will also share how they use GRR to support student readers and writers in their classrooms. Finally, the presenters will use the GRR framework to help you to develop a lesson to use with your own students and/or staff.

School SLOs are best met through a system of shared leadership. In our district, we’ve developed a system where model classroom teachers and coaches collaboratively provide job-embedded professional development in order to achieve our district literacy goals. This session will provide teachers, coaches, and administrators with an overview of our systemic school improvement process. Participants will see how the principles of apprenticeship literacy can be applied to the professional development of teachers. We will share how we have used a constructivist approach to changing teacher beliefs and instructional practices to meet our goals for collective efficacy and professional capital.